US think tank chief charged as China agent, accused of bribing Trump aide
Prosecutors say without naming official that he was working as an adviser to then president-elect Donald Trump
July 11, 2023
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Monday that Gal Luft, head of a think tank in the US has been charged for being an agent of China, who was "seeking to buy Iranian oil surpassing sanctions and weapons sale for Middle East", including paying money to the then-President Donald Trump's adviser for policies favourable to Beijing.
A citizen of the US and Israel is alleged to have paid and recruited a former high-ranking US government official on behalf of China in 2016, without registering himself as a foreign agent under the law.
Prosecutors said without naming the official that he was working as an adviser to then-president-elect Trump.
Luft, who fugitive according to prosecutors, is accused of pressing the official to back favourable policies towards China, including drafting comments in the adviser’s name that were published in a Chinese newspaper.
According to the allegations, the 57-year-old is said to have attempted to broker arms sales involving customers in China, Libya, the UAE and Kenya.
A Twitter account associated with him has rejected the claim that he is an arms dealer.
The alleged Luft is the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which is based outside Washington DC and describes itself as focused on energy and US security.
According to the website, Luft is a co-founder and former CIA Director James Woolsey is listed as an adviser.
Prosecutors also accused him of attempting to broker arms sales without a US permit. He allegedly put an effort to assist Chinese firms to sell anti-tank launchers, grenade launchers and mortar rounds to Libya.
He also allegedly attempted to sell "aerial bombs and rockets" to the UAE and "strike" drones to Kenya.
Federal officials underlined that he attempted to bypass US sanctions on Iranian oil by directing an associate to say that the oil was Brazilian.
Prosecutors noted that Luft was arrested in Cyprus on US charges on 17 February this year and fled after being released on bail pending extradition.
A day later, a Twitter account in his name said he had been arrested in Cyprus "on a politically motivated extradition request by the US".
He will face decades in prison if he is found guilty.
